COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE: CHARACTERISTICS, COGNITIVE CHANGES - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The cognitive development in adolescence is based primarily on the ability to think, reason and make decisions. Children begin to learn all these skills from the moment they are born; But already in adolescence, the process becomes much more complex, based on the changes that have occurred previously.

Adolescents have to learn to use concrete skills to develop capacities such as critical thinking or decision-making. Young people between the ages of 12 and 18 should be able to take what they have learned during their childhood and apply it to real life situations.

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On the other hand, during this stage of life, adolescents also learn to reason in a more complex way, understand phenomena such as the relationship between cause and effect, and take responsibility for their own actions and decisions.

All these changes occur due to the sum of different factors. On the one hand, the adolescent brain is sufficiently developed so that they can understand all these concepts and realities. On the other hand, the circumstances of their lives begin to change and increasingly resemble those of adulthood.

characteristics

Appearance of formal operations

According to the studies carried out by Jean Piaget on the different stages of cognitive development, children under approximately 12 years of age are only capable of thinking in specific situations. Their logic is based on the here and now, and for example they have a lot of difficulty thinking about abstract concepts.

The main change that occurs during cognitive development in adolescence is that from the age of 12, people begin to be able to reason abstractly. This means, for example, that young people can understand scientific subjects, reflect on spiritual issues or ask questions of all kinds.

In addition to this, the ability to think abstractly helps teens to question everything they previously took for granted about the world.

For this reason, during this period there are often significant changes in beliefs and attitudes, which lead many young people to try to find a lifestyle that fits their personality.

Another change caused by this characteristic of adolescent thinking is that young people realize that there is often no single interpretation for a phenomenon. Therefore, at this stage they begin to ask questions about their surroundings.

Finally, abstract thinking also allows them to think about the future, being able to understand for the first time the consequences of their actions, plan and set goals.

Egocentrism

Another of the most important changes caused by cognitive development in adolescence is the appearance of a certain egocentricity and narcissism that completely changes the vision of the world of young people.

This egocentricity manifests itself in two ways. On the one hand, young people of these ages often feel that "nobody understands them", seeing themselves as unique and totally different from others. This often leads to all kinds of interpersonal conflicts, especially with authority figures like parents and teachers.

On the other hand, adolescents also begin to worry to a great extent about their appearance, something that during childhood does not occur so markedly. Any small imperfection is seen as something horrible, and often suffers from the so-called "focus effect": the belief that others constantly examine us to criticize us.

Imagination and planning

We have already seen that, during adolescence, a person is able for the first time in his life to think about things that are not found in the "here and now." One of the most important changes brought about by this new skill is that young people over the age of 12 can begin to consider the future and its possibilities.

Due to it, during this stage for the first time people begin to think about what they would like to achieve, their goals, and the achievements they would like to achieve. In addition, adolescents also try to find their own identity, something that until now had never worried them.

Questioning of authority

Finally, during adolescence, young people are able to stop and think about different aspects of their life for the first time. Because of this, it is very common that they also begin to question whether what their parents, teachers and other adults have told them is true or necessary, or if they really deserve their respect.

This cognitive shift is the basis for many of the conflicts that occur between most adolescents and the adults around them. During this stage, young people begin to discover their own values, generate idealistic ideas about the world, and compare all the information they receive with these aspects.

Some experts believe that this questioning of authority is also related to the adolescent's search for his place in the world. During childhood, our only role is to grow up and allow ourselves to be cared for by our parents. In contrast, in adolescence, individual identity begins to truly forge.

Cognitive changes

The main cognitive change that occurs in adolescence is the appearance of abstract or hypothetical thinking. Before entering the stage of formal operations, children are not able to reason about what they have never seen or are not in front of.

Thus, before this stage a child would be unable to reflect on abstract concepts such as justice, love or war; You could only partially understand them based on your experience. In the formal operations stage, the ability to think hypothetically is acquired for the first time.

This also means that from around the age of twelve, young people can begin to understand more complex subjects, such as science. Therefore, at this stage they begin to study physics, chemistry, and more complex subjects in mathematics.

In addition to all this, adolescence also acquires the ability to reason logically about hypothetical possibilities. This gives rise to hypothetical - deductive thinking, which allows making predictions about the world and understanding cause and effect relationships.

Stages

Although adolescence was traditionally considered to constitute a single period within the phases of cognitive development, some recent researchers believe that it is more useful to divide this stage into several parts.

Early adolescence

During the first early adolescence, the main job of young people is to discover what their true personality is and what really interests them. Until now, most decisions had been made by the parents, often without the child being able to have a true opinion about it.

When adolescence begins, this dynamic changes. Young people can, for the first time in their lives, start to make some small decisions and find out what they like and what they don't like.

Decisions at this stage are often very simple, such as choosing your own haircut or which classmates to make friends with.

Also at this stage, young people begin to question authority, discovering that some of their tastes or ideas go against those that have been imposed on them up to that point. However, during early adolescence, conflicts are usually not too intense.

Middle adolescence

The middle adolescence can be a difficult time for both young people and adults who have to care for them. At this point, the cognitive skills acquired in the first stage begin to really develop, and the adolescent is able to think in a more complex way and to worry about the future and abstract issues.

The main concern that appears during the middle adolescence is how the young person fits in the world. At this time, questions begin to appear that will have great importance in the life of the individual, and reflections are made on issues such as what career to pursue, the political ideas that one has, or what ethical code to follow.

As if this were not enough, in the middle adolescence questions also begin to be asked about issues such as one's sexuality, relationships with peers and adults, and the future of the person. If any of these issues conflict with what the young man has learned so far, all kinds of problems can arise.

Late adolescence

During the late teens, late teens, young people shed some of their self-centeredness by having solved many of the most important issues of this time. For this reason, their focus shifts to more global and practical questions, such as what to study, which university to go to, or what kind of life they want to lead.

In addition to this, adolescents who are in this stage tend to be much more flexible in their thinking than in the previous ones, and therefore they are capable of understanding opinions different from their own. At this time, conflicts with authority tend to decrease, as the young person feels more secure with his own ideas.

References

1. "Cognitive development in adolescence" in: Love to Know. Retrieved on: March 20, 2019 from Love to Know: teens.lovetoknow.com.
2. "Stages of adolescence" in: Healthy Children. Retrieved on: March 20, 2019 from Healthy Children: healthychildren.org.
3. "Piaget stages of development" in: Web MD. Retrieved on: March 20, 2019 from Web MD: webmd.com.
4. "Cognitive Development in the Teen Years" at: University of Rochester Medical Center. Retrieved on: March 20, 2019 from University of Rochester Medical Center: urmc.rochester.edu.
5. "Cognitive development in adolescence" in: You are Mom. Retrieved on: March 20, 2019 from Eres Mamá: eresmama.com.